Every week, you’ll find on our blog class notes and a summary video from our Wednesday and Sunday tango group classes.

These video and notes are meant to help our students remember what they’ve done in class.

Dimension: Directions - Theme: Boleos with pivots

Boleos are whip-like motion which add a bit of oomph to your dancing. There are a lot of different types of boleos - with or without pivot and on the floor or through the air. In this class, we focused on boleos with pivot.

Summary video

 

Beginners & improvers: Back boleo “al piso” (on the floor)

Top tips

  • Leaders: Boleos are an energetic interruption of movement, which means you first need to lead your partner to pivot and before she completes her next step, dissociate in the other direction to make her come back.
  • Followers: In the boleos, always keep your knees together and try and find the feeling of a rebound, to create the “whip” effect associated with boleos.

 

Intermediates: Front boleo from a side cross

Top tips

  • Leaders: Before stepping to the side, start extending your left arm slightly to make your partner step slightly diagonally back. Step in a diagonal as well to create space for the front cross.
  • Followers: When coming back from the boleo, as you collect, immediately put your toes on the floor to prepare for the exit.

 

Intermediates: Continuous front and back boleos

Top tips

  • Leaders: Make sure you walk around your partner to keep her in her axis. If you step away from her, she will have to exit the continuous boleos and step.
  • Followers: This is a circular back boleo followed by a front boleo. The energy for the leg is constantly behind you, avoid kicking forward with the free leg between the back and the front boleo.

 

Homework

Top tips

  • Leaders: Practise with your partner the difference between boleos on the floor (low energy, slightly down) and high boleos (more energy, upwards).
  • Followers: Practise the font and back continuous boleo on your own, making sure you can keep your balance and that you keep your knees together. The energy should be that of a back boleo, then lower the energy before raising it again for the front boleo.

 

See you soon on the dancefloor,

Nati y Bruno